Pitchup

Rich Harvest For Farm Diversification

Posted on January 9, 2019

Rich Harvest For Far m DiversificationRich Harvest For Farm Diversification

Outdoor holiday accommodation specialist Pitchup.com has reported the strongest year to date for farm bookings on its website. The business, which represents more than 300 farms across the UK, has reported that 53,000 bookings on farm sites were taken in the last year, a whopping 32% annual increase. One site on Pitchup books took £90,000 in accommodation bookings in the last 12 months. Given that average Farm Business Income (FBI) is just £33,000, this is a real opportunity for farmers to invigorate their business and reap the rewards diversification brings. “Parts of the farming industry have struggled in recent years and large numbers have now embraced diversification to sustain their agricultural businesses,” said Dan Yates, founder of Pitchup.com. “Many farmers’ main asset is their vast swathes of land, much of which can lie unused. We want to encourage farmers to use the space for creating camp and glamping sites. It’s relatively inexpensive to set up a basic site - planning permission and licences are not always required - and the returns are immediate. “With our help these last few statistics can change. Farming is vital to the economy of Britain and to supplement core income from agriculture, we are actively encouraging more farmers to consider diversification. “The British domestic camping and caravan market is worth £2.2bn per annum and we’re encouraging farms to get on board and enjoy a slice of this income. Farmers already own the land in most cases – why not put unfarmed parts of it to use?

Just One Click

Posted on October 13, 2016

Just One Click

You cannot afford to miss out on online bookings advises Ashleigh Mackenzie…

Eight out of ten Brits now book their holidays online.

Eight out of ten Brits now book their holidays online.

With eight out of ten Brits choosing to book their holidays online, it’s now more important than ever for parks to have their finger on the pulse in terms of efficient booking management systems. Holiday parks are increasingly looking for greater functionality from their booking and management systems. The ultimate goal is to provide online customers with a quality system that is simple and easy to use, that will not only save time but will also generate more bookings for their business.

“A sophisticated system needs to sit at the heart of any forward thinking holiday accommodation business. It is the glue that holds everything together,” says Wendy Radford-Gaby of Anytime Booking. “Just make sure the booking and management software you choose helps you to solve real life problems at your holiday park.” She adds: “Don’t try to retro-fit a software designed for another market. Use technology that understands you.”

Park owners can keep pace with technology by having a web based management and booking system which operates from one platform, so when an online booking is made it immediately goes into their management system avoiding mistakes and errors.

EARLY BIRD

“September to March is a busy time for system suppliers as it is naturally when new customers come on board. So get in as early as you can to have time to familiarise yourself fully with the system before your busy season starts,” advises Dawn Bee, Managing Director of Netguides.

Netguides offer GemaPark, a cloud park reservation management system with online bookings. The optional park website package gives holiday parks a modern responsive, optimised website with content management, to promote their park and provide integrated online booking. “Our solutions are fully hosted, backed up and managed and we offer 24/7 support,” says Dawn.
“We pride ourselves on our responsiveness and customer service and are constantly listening to customer feedback to make our products easier and more efficient for customers to use.” The system starts from £60 per month for 60 pitches or 12 statics and scales up. The prices include hosting, backup and support so there are no surprise extra costs.
Says Dawn: “With GemaPark we have new connectivity with other providers such as Hoseasons and Pitchup, we have lots more features to support holiday home parks and as always we have development in our online booking widgets to increase usability and conversion.”

In terms of setup, there is a data gathering stage where Netguides get to understand your park, what you offer and how you sell it. The company will then configure the system for you loading your units, pitches and prices and provide the link or widgets to your web developers to add the online booking elements to your website. Full staff training is offered to get the team up and running with the system.
“You will never realise just how important until you experience it,” comments Dawn.

“It improves customer experience, increases the number of sales and greatly reduces administration time. This allows you time to work on your business and then business growth and enjoyment in running the business increase significantly – and that’s important.”

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